Wonderful weekend weatherwise, Saturday some major storms in the area avoided J Birney Crum Field altogether!

Large crowds, parking not a major issue, shaved ice is a lifesaver in the heat, and plenty of good eats at the concession stands! Souvenier area well set up, my one question is how come no one sells seat cushions anymore? ( except Bridgemen )

Saturday night was far more comfortable for me, on Friday it seems like I was surrounded by a Big 10 offensive line, with a Bob's Big Boy right in front of me, and another in front of him. The two kept moving backward and I ended up with a sore knee and ankle. Those behind us thought my wife and I were giving standing-o's to everyone, in reality we were seizing the opportunity to acquire some breathable oxygen

First off, it seems like I am saying this every year, these corps and players are the best I have seen in over 50 years of DrumCorps, and every player, staff and volunteer should have a lifetime of great memories from spectacular well performed shows. I particularly love watching the field percussion judge, this guy is the hardest working person alive: he was surrounded by SCV at the end, escaped without interfering to park in front of the cymbal line for their finale; he can be observed frequently feeling the groove with head bobbing and body lanquage-

The placements seemed right to me, the two biggest surprises for me were Cavies horns, and Glassmens horns, both frequently raked over the coals, undeserved IMHO. Not only that , it seems Bluecoats are doing some fortissimo this year Conspiracy theorists can note that Cavies and Phantom were on last each night, both scheduled for the encore performances. ( I agreed with both of them winning though )

You won't get any negatives here, this was two sheer nights of joy for me.
My best observation to pass along is that the best designed programs seem to be winning, and there are a number of corps who need to question their programming directions or they may get passed, regardless of who they are and what their talent level is,

Quick hits:

First standing O what else - CONQUEST! ( although the opening drill frenzy came pretty close ) BAC was all fired up!

Corps were yelling and screaming while entering, I LOVE the enthusiasm!

Troopers saloon gig is the best! Not to mention the sunburst reprise ( many fans may be too young to remember it ) GO TROOP!

Glassmen really caught my attention ( they usually don't)

Cavies deserved to win ( IMHO ) - love the jumping over drill and the warlord.

Way to go Pioneer, keep fighting, you kids are great!

Blue Stars are for real, watch out

Crossmen are starting to click, much improvement, I love the show

SCV - players don't go elsewhere, headed in the right direction

Cadets- I wore my free smiley- great corps, still trying to figure out what happiness is ( try 42 )

Blue Devils are great, other three programs ( Cavies, PR,CC ) seem to have more going for them ( IMHO ) - no absurdity here, may have won with this in an off year though

All finished up by the Bridgemen, who really have it right! They entered with an official throwing a flag at two players for illegal use of a clarinet and sousaphone! Crowd went bonkers, and then again at the contra bass players wearing t-shirts featuring bikini clad babes! Way to go Bridgemen!

To the staff who try to whoop up the crowd, let your corps earn the applause

To the audience vocalists, we know your corps is ready PLEASE

Crown and Phantom remain my favorites ( with SCV ), please do not read anything into non mentions of corps, I LOVED THEM ALL!

frankiE wrote:MSaturday night was far more comfortable for me, on Friday it seems like I was surrounded by a Big 10 offensive line, with a Bob's Big Boy right in front of me, and another in front of him. The two kept moving backward and I ended up with a sore knee and ankle. Those behind us thought my wife and I were giving standing-o's to everyone, in reality we were seizing the opportunity to acquire some breathable oxygen

One thing that I can't understand is when the stadium was renovated why did they have the seats numbers painted so close together? I saw many people who were sitting in two seats!
Like frankiE said above, you stood up every chance you could get to get some air. They had us packed in like sardines.

Malibu
Crossmen Alumni

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."